Forced on Your Own Adventure- YuGiOh Edition
by BonesDon'tMelt
Summary: Mythical creatures and mutants- collectively called Wights- are real. Pretty much all of the main cast fall into that category, although some prefer to pretend they aren't. This is me completing a writing challenge; the rules are outlined at the top of the first chapter. It will make way more sense if you read them, but it's not necessary.
1. Volant

**Explanation:** This is a challenge that both my sister and I have taken up- to write a story, a little bit every day, each section based on a word.

These words aren't chosen in advance. So it's like a choose your own adventure- hence the name (which my little bro came up with and insists he be credited with)- except that you don't choose the next step. And neither do I. It's all up to fate and a dictionary. Which is why it's forced, not chosen.

I'm writing the Yu-Gi-Oh edition, and if you're interested my sister has decided to do a Star Trek version of the same name. We'll be using the same words too, so it'll be interesting to see what differences we come up with. The title of each chapter is the word the chapter is based on.

 **Volant** \- Capable of flight.

AN: Okay… so someone gets wings right off. I can work with this. Obviously, it'll be an AU.

* * *

Yugi and Joey had been friends for quite a long time. At least, by Joey's standards- which essentially meant more than a year.

In that time, Yugi had learned a lot about his blond friend. He knew that Joey was loyal, despite his previous affiliations with some unsavory people, and that despite having been his bully at one point the blond would gladly put his life on the line to protect Yugi now.

He knew that everyone else in Joey's gang had been Wights- that wasn't uncommon in the world they lived in. Wights weren't one specific type of creature, for lack of a better word, but simply a class in which everything that wasn't human was shoved. Wights weren't uncommon, but they certainly were less common than humans- current estimation was that there were four humans for every Wight, although those numbers couldn't really be counted on.

Wights stuck together, and many of the nastier ones formed gangs such as the one Joey had been a part of while others formed less malignant, but no less exclusive, groups. However, those were only the open ones. There were plenty who tried to hide their peculiarities.

While Wights and humans were, in the eyes of the law, technically equal, there were certain… _precautions_. These precautions were often used to justify mistreatment of Wights, but were supposed to be to keep normal humans safe, because most, if not all, Wights were superior and more deadly in some physical way. Some had claws, some could breathe underwater, some had superior strength and reflexes.

Some could fly.

* * *

It really wasn't a surprise when, in Yami and Kaiba's latest spat, everyone had somehow ended up on the most thematically appropriate place- on top of the tallest building in Domino.

No one was entirely sure how everything happened. Of course Yami and Kaiba had been dueling, Yugi watching from the back of his own mind but not interfering, while Joey was baited by every word Kaiba sneered out (only not flat-out attacking the other boy because Tristan was holding him back) and the others watched in a more dignified manner.

One moment they were yelling back and forth, having moved past their usual condescending rivalry into a more overt expression of their feelings, and Yami had been standing daringly close to the edge of the platform. No one had really noticed, and neither Yami nor Yugi were clumsy so they didn't worry if they did.

But then, suddenly, Yami was no longer in control. He was forced back and Yugi found himself in the forefront- he tried to get his bearings, but that was rather hard given that everyone was suddenly yelling.

Also because he seemed to be falling. Which was, really, why everyone was yelling in the first place.

"YUGI!" Shouted out several voices atop the roof, watching the disoriented boy simply stumble off the edge. Kaiba was not one of those who had yelled, but he did look almost surprised, which was the most emotion any of them had seen on him thus far discluding rage. Anzu gasped and rushed forward, despite knowing there was nothing she could do. Tristan, knowing that Joey wouldn't attack Kaiba at a time like this and also being too shocked to hold his friend back, loosened his grip.

Joey sprinted to the edge but, unlike the others, didn't stop. He threw off his jacket on the way, ignoring all yelled questions as to what he thought he was doing, and dove off- Tristan only just missed grabbing him, and nearly fell off himself in the attempt.

"Joey, stop!"

"What are you doing?" Several yells followed him as he fell, but he paid no mind. Offhandedly he noted that Kaiba had still not uttered a sound, despite what must look like a suicide attempt to the others on his part, but that really wasn't important right now. What was important was getting to Yugi before he hit the ground.

There hadn't been time to remove his shirt before he jumped, but that wouldn't be a problem. His jacket was much sturdier in material, and so would have made more problems, but while the shirt was thicker than most it gave almost no resistance as it tore nearly in half.

Beneath, as the material was pushed away, a pair of pure white wings unfurled.

* * *

Yugi supposed, looking back, that it had actually been pretty obvious. And, as he was falling the several stories and watching Joey leap after him, it seemed time had slowed to a crawl so he had plenty of time to reflect on it.

Simply the fact he'd been in a Wight gang really should have been enough to out him, but no one had even suspected it. Everyone had simply waved off the connection- Joey had grown up in a bad part of town, one that many Wights lived in, and people assumed he'd just fallen in with the wrong crowd. Sure he was an impressive fighter and all, but while more skilled than most he was definitely within human capabilities, and he worked to get there too.

It wasn't an impossible assumption, but Yugi had met Hirutani and now that he thought about it there was no way he would let a mere human into his ring of Wights.

Then was after the gang- after starting school with Yugi and the others. Joey had picked on many people, but in the end he was trying (poorly and in a totally wrong manner) to get the weakest of the school to stand up for themselves. Most of his targets had been Wights. People had assumed he was bigoted, or that he wanted to prove just how tough he was, and yet he had never allied himself with those who did think less of Wights and that had never made much sense to Yugi- but now it did. Joey had been, in his own ineffectual way, trying to prepare more of his own kind to stand up to those who would hate them because of their heritage.

Then after, when he became friends with Yugi, a Wight himself, Joey had become protective not only of Yugi but the other Wights in the school, most of which were Yugi's friends. Again, it could have been waved off- Wights always stuck together, everyone knows that, so anyone that was friends with one would obviously make friends with more. But Joey himself being a Wight- that made much more sense.

Yugi could almost hear Yami yelling at him from the back of his mind as he thought such frivolous things while falling to his death, but he couldn't quite make out any words.

He wasn't sure it that was for some sinister reason, or just because he was very distracted.

He wasn't distracted by falling. No, quite the contrary, he'd almost forgotten he was even still in danger even while he watched Joey race towards him. It was Joey. Because while the blond _being_ a Wight wasn't quite a shock, what _type_ he was was certainly unexpected.

"YUUG!" Joey shouted, reaching a hand out. This was cutting it close. Way too close for comfort. They were both falling at terminal speeds by now, and he only had three stories left to slow them down. And Joey, while not being a novice at flying by any means, had not done it beyond a simple strength exercise for almost a year. He was out of practice, and they were almost out of time.

And those people up there on the roof were _still screaming_ and now _other_ people were too as they looked out their windows and saw the two boys plummeting to the ground, and _man_ Joey thought that was super distracting, but it's not like he could _do_ anything about it at the moment, so he simply beat his wings and forced himself towards Yugi and, coincidentally, the ground a little bit faster.

The smaller boy was nearly in his grasp...

* * *

AN: So, I _did_ have more I was going to write for this part, but I decided to stop at a dramatic moment and let the next word lead the way. What do you guys think so far? Not just about the story, but the whole way I'm doing this? Interesting way to write or stupid idea?


	2. Obsolescence

AN: Well, this one is epically short, but it was fun to write anyway. Chapters will probably range from 100 to like 3000 words depending on how I'm feeling because this is a daily challenge rather than a pre-planned thing.

 **Obsolescence** \- The process of becoming obsolete.

* * *

Joey would like to think he was somewhat an expert in obsolescence.

He'd spent his whole life making himself less than he was, choosing to seem like a mere human and avoid any popularity or scorn involved with being a Wight. Even when he was younger, too young to know anything for himself, his mother had dressed him up to hide his wings. To protect him, she said. He didn't doubt it, even now, so even after the divorce he continued to hide. Even Hirutani hadn't known for quite a while, but one can only last so long in a gang without having their shirt ripped in a fight.

Hirutani had encouraged him to expose himself as a Wight. Joey had gotten away from that- by saying he couldn't fly. That he'd never tried, and that the wings didn't work for a human physique. He'd hidden further, by convincing the others he was just as useless as before.

So close to no one knew he was a Wight, and every single person who knew he was a Wight thought his abnormality was nothing but a hindrance.

Joey Wheeler was just a meat-headed thug with more muscles than IQ points; Joey Wheeler was the only human in a Wight gang; Joey Wheeler was just the loyal dog of Yugi Moto.

 _Well,_ Joey reflected as he finally was able to grab Yugi's arm, pulling the smaller boy to him and holding him tightly (especially his head, no need to save his life but give him whiplash), his large white wings flapping as he pulled out of the nosedive, _guess that's the end of that._


	3. Vomit

AN: Sorry I forgot to mention I'm only doing weekdays, because I'm an entitled brat who thinks I deserve weekends off (but at least I know it).

Vomit- I suppose this is rather apt.

* * *

The yelling had continued even after Joey had pulled up, lifting himself and Yugi not only to roof level but beating his wings a few more times and shooting much higher into the air. In fact, they may have gotten louder.

Joey knew he should have set down on the ground immediately, or at least returned to the roof on which most of his friends, and Kaiba, still stood, but, simply put, he didn't want to. He had only once before seen the reactions of people finding that he wasn't, in fact, a completely under-average human (and was, actually, a completely under-average Wight). Those people had been Hirutani and the gang, whose only reaction was that now they could use him even more effectively because there was no emotional connection at all.

Besides wanting to avoid the confrontation that would inevitably happen on the roof, it had been a long time since he'd been able to fly. It felt nice, the wind roaring past him, although it was also quite a strain on his oft-neglected back muscles. Especially when carrying Yugi- the boy was small, but even adding just his amount of weight made it harder to gain altitude to any significant degree.

Speaking of Yugi- the boy had latched onto his friend with a vice-like grip as soon as he was caught, despite the serenity of his thoughts as he was falling, and his terror had quickly caught up with him. He'd been wound tight as a board, eyes squeezed shut and breath coming in gasps.

"I got ya Yuug," Joey called over the wind, beginning to descend. He had never brought anyone on a flight before, no one but his sister and that had been years ago, so he was descending a bit faster than he would have liked. Yugi relaxed the slightest bit at that, just enough to enable him to open his eyes a sliver and look at where they were.

It really was a pretty sight… but Yugi had seen practically the same sight from atop the building, and while he totally trusted Joey not to drop him he would much prefer seeing it with his feet planted firmly on the ground.

After Joey had caught him he'd heard nothing but the roar of the wind and the muffled, not-quite-understandable shouts of Yami from the back of his mind, but when Joey brought him out of his terrified daze with that simple assurance he noticed that Yami wasn't the only one shouting.

And the cacophony was getting louder, as if it were coming closer.

Joey landed, his knees almost buckling under the combined pressure of his and Yugi's weight and the momentum from the decent. He probably could have softened the landing a bit more, but seeing how terrified Yugi was (and who could blame him, really), Joey, who was unflinchingly loyal but not the best thinker, decided that landing fast was a more pressing matter than the state of his leg joints.

Although Yugi had been scared up in the air, he hadn't been motion sick.

Not that he had noticed anyway.

The sudden, jarring stop, however, suddenly made Yugi very aware that his vision was blurry and his stomach was doing somersaults. And as soon as Joey had let him go, he ignored the relieved and surprised shouting from his friends in favor of stumbling a few feet away and emptying his stomach on the rooftop.

After he was done he took a moment to reflect on his relationship with Seto Kaiba and decided it was good that their relationship was already negative.

He didn't think vomiting on top of Kaiba's building would win him any points.


	4. Slick

Slick- Something that is smooth or slippery

AN: When I heard the word "slick" my first thought was the slang term for a smooth-talker… and how Joey is certainly not that. So it's not as overt as the last few, but "slick" did inspire how Joey acts in this chapter.

* * *

People were still yelling, even as Yugi heaved onto the roof and Joey fluttered around his smaller friend with obvious concern. All of their friends had rushed forward, asking questions and demanding answers, one (Joey would bet nearly anything that it was Tristan) even _touched_ one of Joey's wings.

It wasn't that it was painful or awkward, just that Joey hadn't let _anyone_ touch his wings in years, so he was vastly unused to the idea and feeling of some weirdo (aka his best friend besides Yugi) stroking his feathers!

"Will all a' ya _shut up!_ " He yelled, almost screeching the words in surprise from the lingering feeling of someone _touching his wings_.

The silence was immediate and deafening. Everyone crowding around the two stepped back a pace, besides Anzu who had taken up station beside Yugi and was attempting to get his mind to stop swirling, and then simply stared. They all still looked almost ready to burst, their questions unanswered and threatening to spill over any moment. Even Anzu, distracted as she was by offering Yugi a piece of gum to chase away the taste of puke, couldn't help but to glance intermittently towards the pure white wings sprouting from the back of the teen most accepted was merely a thug. The only one who didn't look like that was Kaiba himself, who was rooted in precisely the same spot he had been when Yugi fell off of the roof with the same slight tilt to his eyebrows that gave him away as surprised underneath the blank mask he always wore.

"Stop starin' silently at me ya creeps," Joey hissed, shoulders hunching up much like a dog's hackles would raise.

After a moment to process his conflicting demands, they kept staring silently anyway. After they had stopped asking questions it seemed as if their mouths had been sealed by their own surprise, unable to open even as they desperately searched for answers. Joey stared back at them all as if they were wild animals, his wings flexing open and closed in a nervous tick.

Finally, Tristan was the one who broke the silence. Taking a step towards his old friend and putting a hand once more on the blond's wing- Joey's shoulders were up to his ears now and his wings immediately stopped moving but he didn't seem to notice- he said, "since when have you had these?"

Nearly everyone on the roof fought back a groan at the obvious question, but Tristan was really in too much of a shock from the revelation that his childhood friend was a Wight to think of anything more pressing.

"Wadda ya mean ' _since when'd I have dese'_? Dey're _wings_ Tristan, they don't just pop outta ya back one day! I was born with 'em!" Joey responded condescendingly, yanking his wings back to himself as closely as possible. Still, they were huge, they had to be to support the weight of a human, and the tips of the feathers dragged the ground.

Yugi was getting to his feet now, and Joey saw that as a perfect distraction.

"Look, Yuug's gettin' up! How're ya doin' bud?" Joey asked loudly, stepping behind Yugi and attempting to draw all attention to his smaller friend.

In the moment everyone looked at Yugi, the wings suddenly disappeared almost was if they had never been there.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Yugi asked, the first to look at his blond friend. Joey blinked back almost innocently.

"Do what?"

No one was fooled.


	5. Suffering

Suffering- the state of being in pain.

Wow. This thing really wants to be some kinda drama, huh?

* * *

Seto Kaiba had encountered much stupidity in his mere eighteen years of life.

He'd had to deal with the idiots his father had hired to take care of the company- people who Gozaburo made sure were easily manipulated fools so the company could never be wrested from him. He'd had to deal with Gozaburo himself, who was a fool in an entirely different way; an intellectual genius, of course, and one in business as well, but his ability to factor in anything relating to human emotions had been his downfall. Then were his classmates, who were not only his intellectual inferiors by a few branches of the evolutionary tree but also complete fools in every other aspect.

One such subject, and possibly the most idiotic Kaiba had ever encountered, was before him now.

Joey Wheeler.

The dumb blond who lived up to the stereotype- except that not even his looks could do anything to redeem his idiocy.

And here Kaiba was, having to sit through that idiot jumping off a roof and revealing, in an unnecessarily dramatic way if Kaiba had anything to say about it, his innermost secret to the world.

Whatever.

Kaiba had _so many_ better things to do than suffer through this drama; he had no interest in whether or not Joey was a Wight and how his wings had disappeared. What he needed to do was figure out why Yami had bailed on their duel, the coward.

* * *

AN: Kaiba the overdramatic hypocrite. To be clear Yami didn't _bail_ , but Kaiba did see that Yami retreated quickly and Yugi was left before he fell off the roof.


	6. Corrupt

**Corrupt** \- altered from the base form in a negative way.

Once again, what's with the drama words?

* * *

"They can shrink?" Anzu asked curiously, all of them looking interestedly at Joey's back, which now had wings a fraction of the size as they were before. For a moment it had looked like the wings had disappeared completely, since Joey had been facing them all and the wings could be folded completely behind his back, but when he had moved to retrieve his jacket the truth was quickly known.

"Two sizes only," Joey answered, hurriedly shrugging on the jacket with hopes that they could stop talking about it already. It was awkward. They never talked about the others' Wight features, why should his be any different?

Of course, other than the fact that he'd been hiding them for years. That was a bit different.

Kaiba, who was personally already past the shock of wings (he'd gotten past the shock when the stupid mutt jumped off the roof), just wanted everyone to step back and ask what was really important in this situation.

Namely, _why_ had Yami so suddenly ditched the duel they were having?

"As riveting as this is," Kaiba drawled, tone showing exactly how riveting he thought it _wasn't_ , "I really couldn't care less about some mutated mutt." Ignoring Joey once again snarling at him and the rest of them attempting to chastise him for unnecessary cruelty (who were they to chastise him anyway? He was the owner of a _multi-billion dollar company_ ), he turned to Yugi with a glare. "Where did Yami go? Hiding in his room?"

As rude as the others thought Kaiba was being, even Joey stopped trying to kill him in favor of looking at Yugi in concern. It really wasn't like Yami at all to retreat into his and Yugi's shared body in the middle of a duel, nor was it like him to let Yugi be in charge during a life-threatening situation. He was notoriously protective of his brother, after all.

They were brothers. It wasn't a fact of split personality or insanity or anything like that; Yugi and Yami were simply Wight. They had, since birth, shared the same body. Apparently, according to their Grandfather, they had actually been twins, fertilized in separate eggs and everything, but during some early point in the pregnancy one of them had simply… absorbed the other. Unlike the usual case, where this would have killed one twin, they had then been born as one. When they were younger they hadn't quite known, and after they figured it out for quite a while both were convinced they were perfectly insane.

But, the fact was, that their body actually physically changed when either took over. Yami and Yugi were amazingly similar, but Yugi had more baby fat left and Yami was taller, not to mention the slight differences in their hairstyles and the fact that their eyes were different colors.

Yami had always proclaimed himself the older brother, despite the fact that they were literally born at the exact same time and they weren't even sure which one of them _was_ born (because only one could have been physical at the time), and took his duties very seriously. So his actions in the last few minutes were highly concerning to all who knew him.

"Yeah, is Yami alright?" Joey asked in concern, since he considered both Yami and Yugi to be his friends.

Yugi frowned, looking concerned.

He could hear Yami. But… it was different. Warped. Muffled. He couldn't hear words, but it sounded almost like Yami was afraid. When he tried to think back through their mind link, it sounded like he was trying to respond, so Yugi supposed he must have been able to _hear_.

"I don't know," Yugi admitted, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. He'd _never_ not been able to speak to Yami! Sure, sometimes they had fights or one just needed a moment of silence and there would be periods in which they _didn't_ talk, but they always _could_! "I can hear him, but it's like… it's _different_ , I can't understand him at all, and I don't think he could come out even if he wanted to."

Yugi was doing his best to calm down- he had already thrown up and nearly _died_ and almost _cried_ wasn't that enough for _one day_ \- but he couldn't help that his breathing had sped up and suddenly everyone seemed _too close_ , to _crowding,_ but he just wanted a _hug_ dag nabbit and wasn't that just so stupidly contradictory that he felt so _stupid_ thinking it.

"It's okay Yugi," Anzu soothed immediately, hugging the smaller teen and sending a scathing glare at Kaiba for having brought this on. Kaiba scoffed in response. This really wasn't his problem.

"Something's wrong with it," Yugi sniffled, trying valiantly not to cry, "something _happened_ to our bond, what if I can't get him back?"

* * *

AN: Well, this certainly took a turn for the even-more-dramatic. Whoops.


	7. Inveterate

Inveterate- having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change.

* * *

Nearly an hour had passed since Yami had suddenly disappeared.

They were no longer on the roof of Kaiba corp, or even all in the same place anymore. Kaiba had returned to work, he had a multi-billion dollar company to run after all and while that was fine to put on hold for a petty duel against his arch-nemesis (as they called themselves; Yugi was certain they were actually friends), heaven forbid Kaiba take an hour to help find a missing person.

Granted, none of them had even thought Yami _could_ go missing without Yugi going missing too, and while the others were willing to believe Kaiba was skeptical that Yami was in trouble at all.

Ryo, Tristan, and Anzu had taken a trip to the library, hoping to find any sort of information about what could be happening. No one was hopeful, though, since as far as they knew (and Yugi knew quite well, since he had spent hours trying to figure out what was wrong with him before he discovered he was simply Wight) the library had almost no information on Wights similar to Yugi and Yami, and that which they did have was vague at best. Nothing that would shed light on the situation they now found themselves in.

That left Joey and Yugi, who had gone to find Yugi's grandfather.

Solomon Moto was the most knowledgeable person either of them knew; he had been the first to realize Yugi was a Wight and was the first person either boy would go to for adult advice. He listened to what had happened silently, knowing that Yugi needed to just get it out, even when the small boy stopped talking because his throat was too tight and Joey had to take over.

"You jumped off a roof?" He chided Joey as soon as the story had ended, giving the blond a disappointed, but not surprised, look. Joey flushed crimson red and Yugi could swear he saw the back of the blond's jacket shift, as if Joey was nervously flexing his wings like he had on the roof, and the sight brought a slight smile to Yugi's face despite the fact that he still couldn't hear Yami clearly. That had undoubtedly been his Grandfather's intention. "This certainly sounds like a problem," he continued before Joey could answer, taking a contemplative sip of milk.

Yugi took a deep, steadying breath, he was much calmer now than he had been before, but he still couldn't manage any further words. He simply nodded at the rather obvious statement.

"Yeah, so wadda we do, Gramps?" Joey cut in, seeing that Yugi wasn't in any sort of mindspace to keep speaking.

Solomon took a moment to take another contemplative sip of his drink; he was a sucker for dramatic pauses, and even his grandson's obvious distress wasn't quite enough to get him to just spill his thoughts without a _little_ bit of buildup. The two boys looked just about ready to explode, though, so he didn't draw it out too much.

"I've never heard of anything like this before," Solomon admitted, but he hurried on when Yugi's face fell even more, " _but_ I can tell you that from what I know about mind links that he's alive and probably close." While Yugi and Yami seemed to be an almost unique version of Wight, people having mild telepathy wasn't that odd. One couldn't speak with the dead, not unless that was their specific power, and Solomon had never heard of two people being able to hear each other from more than fifty miles away.

Yugi perked up at the news, and immediately his eyes slid to the left, where Yami usually stood in his incorporeal form (which, of course no one else could see), a small smile beginning to lift his lips.

 _Yami! Did you-_ No one was there.

Of course no one was there; Yugi's smile died before it had formed, and only the muffled, meaningless mumbles from his missing brother came to answer his unfinished question.

* * *

AN: … Yeah… I saw the word and was like "Ooh, I can give someone a funny little tick and lighten the mood a bit" and then I was writing and… sibling feels happened. So… Whoops.


	8. Covet

Covet- Yearn to possess or have something

* * *

Yami had always wished he had his own body.

Of course he and Yugi tried to share as best they could; they always both got to try any new food, they always went on rides twice or played games multiple times so both of them got the full experience. Both attended school, and they picked and chose classes they liked because they couldn't very well go separately.

Neither Yami nor Yugi had been discluded in their group of friends, which was honestly a blessing because they had such different personalities. It was hard to find people who would like and accept both of them; Yugi with his quietness and insecurities, and Yami with his brimming overconfidence and fierce overprotective nature. The fact that they had was amazing and Yami appreciated every one of them very much…

He just sometimes wished he could hang out with his friends _and_ his brother.

Plus, there were times when he and Yugi fought. There were always times like that, in any sibling relationship. Usually the two fighting siblings would separate for a while, sit in their own rooms and calm down or go and hang out with their own friends or do something they like by themselves.

Since one of them basically lived in the other's _head_ , that didn't really work with them.

So yeah, Yami had always dreamt of having his own body, and he knew Yugi did as well.

But he'd always imagined it happening and then he and Yugi would physically hug each other for the very first time and enjoy it together.

He hadn't foreseen being yanked viciously out of his own body, pulled away through the air in his incorporeal form as he saw his beloved twin begin to plummet from a rooftop, or dragged through walls and floors and trees and finally into a basement. He certainly hadn't expected slamming into the floor of that basement, because he hadn't expected to have a body at all.


	9. Wilderness

Wilderness

* * *

It took a while for Yami to get his bearings, and even longer for him to calm down enough to think straight.

Well, as straight as he could manage with the constant babbling in the back of his mind. He was sure that was Yugi. Maybe he should have been much more concerned about not being able to hear real _words_ from his brother, but he was too relieved.

He had seen Yugi fall from the edge of that building. Had yelled and fought but been unable to get back. So much time had passed- Yugi would have hit the ground by now.

But he wasn't dead.

Yami knew this- mind links didn't reach the dead.

So as scared and lost as he may have been, he still had a reason to keep going.

That in mind, Yami dragged himself to his feet and began looking around. His initial decision that he was in a basement, it seemed, was slightly off. It was small and dirty- no, not dirty, actually it was _made_ of _dirt_. A root cellar of some sort, then.

He figured it wouldn't be so hard to get out, if that were the case. The place didn't even have proper _walls_ , why would it have good locks?

He was right. It took only a moment to find the exit, and when he did the hatch came open with only minor trouble. It was latched closed on the other side, but not locked in any way.

When he pulled himself up onto the floor of a hut he only took a moment to look around. The place was small, grubby, and generally not well cared for. He only saw these in passing before he was up and heading out of the building- Getting back to Yugi as quickly as possible, finding out if he was okay, was the highest priority.

But as soon as Yami had exited the building, he stopped in shock.

Trees.

He was surrounded, completely, by trees.

There… wasn't a forest near Domino.

Oh dear.

* * *

AN: So… Yami _was_ gonna be in some building in domino… and he actually wasn't even going to be able to exit the place yet... but then… _wilderness_.


	10. Precise

Precise- Marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail.

AN: Random plot-relevant thing; the millennium puzzle does exist in this universe _but_ it isn't where Yami came from (obviously). Instead it's this vaguely magical artifact, but no one knows exactly _what_ it does.

* * *

There really weren't many options to finding Yami, according to Solomon.

Theoretically, the mind link could be used to track him, but that was a high-level and hard party trick that took quite a while to master even for those born with the link. Yugi and Yami _had_ been linked since birth, but since they had never been separated before they had been unable to hone any skills with the mindlink that had to do with distance. It was the same reason they couldn't understand each other when separated, despite having been connected for years.

There was only one other option, according to Yugi's grandfather, and Ryo, Tristan, and Anzu confirmed when they got back from the library.

A witch.

Witches (who could be male or female) were a special subcategory of Wight. While most Wight had a specific physical attribute (such as wings or gills) or a single skill (such as telepathy with family members or telekinesis on small objects), Witches were unique in that their powers were undefined. It all depended on what spells they ran across, though most were rather weak because Witches were rare and so sharing spells was hard. Witches were also unique in that whatever genes caused their power weren't often genetic, and sometimes they appeared in families with no predisposition, or it skipped a generation, or someone from a family had no power at all. The most powerful were from families of Witches, who had generations of predecessors' spells to work off of.

Luckily, they knew of one.

She wasn't from a long line of Witches or in possession of an extensive spellbook, but since her grandmother had been one she had a good start. And, she had a basic tracking spell.

Luckily, she was also in the room.

Anzu had only ever tried the specific spell twice before; she had tried all of her grandmother's spells in order to improve her knowledge of her power, but she was still considered a novice in the art.

Because of her inexperience, and the complexity of spells in general, everything had to be perfect if one was expected to work.

"C'mon Anzu," Joey groaned, slumped over the table as he had been for the past five minutes, "it's gotta be done by _now_."

Yugi, who was usually very patient and understanding, was pacing nonstop around the room, as he had been doing since she first started, and said "this has to be overkill, you're just being picky, _please_ Anzu, can't you hurry?" As he had been saying about every minute since she had begun.

Tristan and Ryo, while concerned for Yami, had given up on simply waiting and started playing cards with Solomon.

For such a complex spell as the tracker, it took nearly ten minutes to set up and draw the necessary runes.

"I'm almost finished," Anzu said patiently, carefully measuring out ten and three fourths inches and drawing the final straight chalk line, "witchcraft isn't a born talent, you know, it's a learned skill… okay, done." She sat back, looking over the complex chalk lines with pride.

"Finally!" Called out pretty much everyone else in the room, causing Anzu to roll her eyes.


	11. Asunder

Asunder- apart; divided; in pieces

Alright, it's apt at least.

* * *

Everyone was gathered around Anzu as close as they could be (despite the brunette's complaints that witchcraft took _space_ and _silence_ thank you very much), watching the map she had placed on her chalk drawings.

It was a detailed map of domino; the most detailed and up-to-date that Solomon had.

And it was being torn to shreds.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. As Anzu chanted things about the stars and feelings and being led to Yami, the map was being systematically sliced by what appeared to be nothing. It was almost as if it was being trimmed, a centimeter at a time, cutting alternatingly across each edge but not disrupting the rest of the map. But since the slashes were hair-thin and the map was undisturbed by the supernaturally thin and smooth cuts, it seemed to everyone that was looking that nothing was happening.

Then, halfway through one of the slashes, the cut stopped.

Anzu's eyes, which had been closed, flew open, but she didn't stop her chanting. More minute slashes appeared on the paper around that area, slowly but surely zeroing in on the location of their lost friend.

And then, suddenly, Anzu stopped.

"What? What happened? Where is he?" Yugi asked, on edge from being separated from his brother for so long.

"Let me see," Anzu answered, reaching forward and slowly brushing the severed pieces of the map away, larger pieces first and continuing until one, small circle was left.

The piece of the map that indicated the Kame game shop, which they were currently sitting in.

"That can't be right," Ryo frowned, the first to speak after a long stretch of silence.

"Didja use Yugi's picture or somethin'?" Joey asked, picking up the pictures they had used and squinting at them. No, they were definitely Yami; the red eyes and commanding posture confirmed it.

"The spell is _accurate_ ," Anzu bristled, snatching the pictures back from Joey and placing them back on the corners of the map, "it hasn't been wrong before, and Yugi and Yami are _different people_ so it wouldn't confuse them!"

"Then… why didn't it work? We'd know if Yami were in here with us," Tristan pointed out.

Everyone was silent. Even Anzu didn't have an answer for that one.


	12. Gearhead

Gearhead- Someone with mechanical interests

In a world of magic and mythical creatures… okay. Well, I guess this… changes things? Kay. Don't worry, we'll see were Yami is soon, I'm sure.

We now take a break from our regularly scheduled program in favor of…

* * *

Seto Kaiba hadn't been lying when he told the nerd herd that he wouldn't help them "locate" their glorious leader, and in fact didn't believe he was missing at all.

He'd never been one for Wights and magic and all that other odd stuff Yami and his little friends were so into. He had a company to run, after all, and no time for suh ridiculous flights of fancy. That being said, he wasn't prejudiced against Wights as his adoptive father, the late Gozaburo Kaiba, had been. He wouldn't not hire someone simply because they were a Wight, and some were hired _because_ of their powers (he had three or four technopaths in engineering and a few physically-gifted Wight security guards).

He didn't _like_ Wights, by any means, but he didn't hate them any more than he hated the rest of humanity either.

That being said, there were very few people Seto Kaiba ever thought were worth his time (and most of them changed his mind quickly), and Yami was one of those few. Annoying as all else with his moral superiority, but still a worthy challenge. Therefore, he did, in fact, realize that Yami suddenly shoving Yugi into control was strange in any circumstance, much less in the middle of a duel.

An interesting occurrence, if nothing else. Something he could… look into. On his off time, of course, not important enough to prioritize over even the most tedious of paperwork.

His off time which was right now, of course. He would do that stack of paperwork later.

Kaiba tapped away on his computer, looking for record of similar occurrences.

* * *

AN: Lookit that, Kaiba's helping! Seperately. And without the intent of sharing information. So pretty much like usual.


	13. Linearize

Linearize- to make linear; to present or transform into a linear form.

* * *

"This makes no sense!" Yugi exclaimed, distraught. They had talked it over, had systematically looked in every nook and cranny, and come up completely empty.

First they checked the basement, and only found spiders; next they combed over the first floor, the shop was filled with games, the kitchen with food and supplies, and the living room with various and sundry objects; up on the second floor, Solomon's room only had his belongings, and Yugi and Yami's was completely clean save for their recently-completed golden pyramid puzzle. They found all that (and several pairs of socks Solomon had thought lost forever), but no sign of Yami anywhere.

And yet, Anzu had insisted her spell _couldn't_ have been wrong; she had set it up perfectly, and made sure all the words were correct as well.

Before anyone could respond to the exclamation, which had been uttered multiple times during the search, there was a knock on the door.

Everyone shared looks, wondering who it could be; the shop had been closed for this emergency, and most of the people who were involved were already here. So Grandpa rose to his feet and walked towards the door, the teenagers peering through the door behind him.

Through the glass panels on the door of the shop, he saw a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties and clearly of Egyptian descent.

He opened the door and, somewhat apologetically, pointed out the clear CLOSED sign.

"I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed right now," he said plainly, before beginning to close the door.

"I'm not here to shop," the woman interrupted, "I believe I may be able to provide some insight about your… current situation."

* * *

AN: Okay, so... rough. I couldn't really think of an in-story way to use linearize, so I just... wrote things in order. Which is how things are usually written, but that's irrelevant.


End file.
